


The Explorer

by orphan_account



Category: No Man's Sky
Genre: Existentialism, Exploration, First Person, Isolation, Mission Reports, Reflection, Science Fiction, Slow Burn, but nothing major, descriptions of action, space travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-11
Updated: 2016-08-11
Packaged: 2018-08-08 01:41:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7738522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a chill, wonder-filled series about what it means to exist. Don't know where it's going, but I intend to update it regularly as I continue to play the game.</p><p>Perspective: the nameless protagonist of No Man's Sky.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Explorer

TIME // SIGLINK_REQ

DATE // SIGLINK_REQ

SUBJECT // BEGINNING

 

I do not know why I’m here.

I do not know how I got here.

I found this datapad on an abandoned station. I’d state my current location, but my ship’s systems stopped tracking a long time ago. It’ll find the nearest star system; but that’s it.

My ship’s doing well, all things considered. After a long day of scavenging whatever planet I happen to find myself on, seeing the white and red just beyond the horizon is one hell of a relief.

This is what it’s always been; planet to planet, system to system. It’s routine, but I do not question.

The few others I encounter rarely offer much help; speaking in languages I can only understand a few words of. They trade, and that’s good, I suppose.

I do now know who I am writing for, but it feels good to get it out of my head.

It feels good to know that I can always come back to these thoughts, and they aren’t as fleeting as I once believed.

I’m sorry if my writing is unruly.

Thoughts come and go too quickly to let them pass unrecorded.

Supplies are tricky; some planets have enough to last me for weeks, some barely manage to give me enough for the trip back into the emptiness.

The emptiness is terrifying, but it’s beautiful.

The emptiness is a friend, sometimes wearing a vivid blue or a pale red.

The emptiness is always there, whether I want it or not.

But the emptiness serves as my path to my next home, and for that I am in its debt.

Some planets are barren; nothing but sand or stone structures.

Some planets are lush, greens and reds and purples and blues blocking out the sun as wild fauna keeps me in the shade.

Some days I can’t help but wonder where I’m going, but something keeps me going regardless.

Maybe it’s the feeling I get when I land on another planet; the warm feeling of newness.

Maybe it’s the necessity; moving onto my next home is all I have, and thus the cycle I live in is unbreakable.

Maybe it’s the hope that one day, I may find someone. Something. Anything that can tell me what happened; what put me here. 

Where I must go.

I don’t dwell on these thoughts for long, however. The joy I feel as I discover another unknown world is enough to distract me from these unlikely hopes.

Hopes can become wants.

Wants can become needs.

Needs can become obsessions.

Obsessions can become insanity.

This is what I tell myself.

Day after day, planet after planet.

The cycle has gotten me this far; and I know that one day, it will bring me to where I am destined to go.

I often look to the sky and wonder if something is watching. Listening.

Do they care about me? Do they guide me with an invisible hand?

If they do watch me, will they ever speak to me?

Sometimes, I feel as if I am being watched.

But not in a good way.

It’s an uneasy thought. It makes me feel lightheaded.

All these hyperspeed jumps, and yet something follows me.

Unknown, quiet. Observant.

Is it benevolent?

Should I fear it?

Do you fear it?

I must go.

This datapad will accompany me. It will be my record; my voice in an emptiness so dark and quiet that voices are seldom heard.

I leave for the next system at first light.

Another jump, another system. 

Another planet. 

Another day.

**Author's Note:**

> This is something very experimental, a work I'm planning to continually update for some time. I don't really know where its going; but I felt excited to write such an open-ended piece from such a unique perspective after playing No Man's Sky. 
> 
> Kudos to Hello Games for creating a game that's blissfully easy to get lost in.
> 
> It's gonna be really chill, lowkey stuff. Just a lot of wondering, exploring, talking about the little things. I intend to keep the chapters short and sweet, no more than a thousand words or so.
> 
> I hope you decide to come along for the journey.


End file.
